Pilgrim Baptist Church

What a family integrated church service looks like: kids reciting Scripture, preaching Daniel in the lions' den, and singing together. This family integrated church service shows what it looks like when children and teens take part in worship: reciting Scripture memory verses, leading hymns, and preaching God's Word to the whole congregation. The main message is "Daniel the Brave," a youth sermon on Daniel in the lions' den (Daniel 6) and the courage to give a respectful "no" to something wrong. Daniel knew the decree was signed, and he went home, opened his windows, and prayed exactly as he always had. This message asks what that kind of brave, quiet faithfulness looks like for a Christian today, and why it matters that the enemy can find nothing wrong with us except our faith. Also in this service: a youth message on Psalm 23, a message on Proverbs 3:5-6 about whom we can trust, and a closing message on purposing in your heart (Daniel 1:8). This service walks through Daniel 6, Psalm 23, and Proverbs 3, explaining: - Why "The Lord is my shepherd" is personal, and the four things a sheep needs gone before it lies down - Why "follow me" in Psalm 23:6 means goodness and mercy pursue you - Why it is right and brave to give a respectful "no" to something that is wrong - Why Daniel's enemies could find no fault in him except concerning his God - Why Daniel kept praying with his windows open after the decree was signed - How Daniel answered the king with respect and gave God the glory - How Daniel coming out of the den points to Christ coming out of the tomb - Why Proverbs 3:5-6 means being careful whom we trust (Samson, Amnon, the unnamed prophet of 1 Kings 13)

3 John 3-4 — Your children can't see your soul. They can see your walk. A sermon on walking in truth and raising children who do. This family integrated church sermon from 3 John 3-4 asks the question behind every Christian parent's prayer: what report is getting back about how I walk? John had no greater joy than to hear that his children walk in truth, and the report came by the brethren who saw it. This verse-by-verse expository preaching through 3 John shows why knowing the truth is not the same as walking in it. Some of us know the truth in the pew and lose it in the parking lot. Everything the colt learned in the round pen stays in the pen when the gate opens. If you grew up in church, can quote John 3:16, and still wonder why the truth hasn't reached your feet, this message is for you. It will also challenge every father and mother who wants Christian parenting that works: your children read your walk before they hear your talk. The sermon also sets Gaius against Diotrophes, two men in the same church under the same preaching, with two different walks and two different reports. It ends with encouragement for the parent who is still praying for a child who hasn't come home. This sermon walks through 3 John 3-4, John 14:6, 1 John 1:6 and 2:6, 1 Corinthians 4:15, Proverbs 23:24, 27:11 and 10:1, and Isaiah 53:10, explaining: - How John knew Gaius's soul prospered: a soul nobody could see showed up in a walk everybody could see - Why knowing the truth is not the same as having the truth - Why the truth is a person (John 14:6), and what happens when the truth moves in - How to walk in truth: one step at a time, Monday through Saturday

James 3:13-18 — Strife and bitterness in your home mean something is wrong at the source. Godly wisdom from above brings a peaceful home. ⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church's 3rd Annual Family Camp • Cookeville, TN • October 6, 2026. This family integrated church sermon from James 3:13-18, featuring guest preacher Pastor Thomas Irvin, answers a question every husband, wife, and parent eventually asks: why is there strife in the home? If your house is full of bitterness, envy, and confusion, this message says the cause is the source of wisdom you are following, and it shows how to replace earthly wisdom with godly wisdom from above. Pastor Irvin shows from James 3 why a man can build a house and still lose his home, why bitterness is nearly impossible to undo once it takes root, and why the first step is being willing to be taught. He also shows how to change course at home patiently, kindly, and together, without tearing the house apart. If you want a peaceful home, strife in the home has to be traced back to its source. Walking through James 3, 1 Corinthians 3, Philippians 3, Jude, 1 Timothy 6, and Philippians 2, this sermon explains: - Why the problem is not a lack of information but a lack of teachability (James 3:13) - The difference between wisdom that builds a house and wisdom that builds a home - Why meekness marks real wisdom, and why you need godly men to show you - Why bitter envying and strife in the home point to the wrong source of wisdom (James 3:14-16) - Why bitterness is nearly impossible to undo once it sets in - How to change your home's direction patiently, without ripping everything out overnight - What godly wisdom looks like: pure, peaceable,

Mark 15:20 — Why did the soldiers put His own clothes back on Jesus? A crucifixion of Jesus sermon on who He is, and why He is still King. This expository preaching message from Mark 15:20 follows the crucifixion of Jesus through the clothes He wore: the purple robe of mockery, the crown of thorns, the coat the soldiers gambled for, the grave clothes, and the robe dipped in blood in Revelation 19. As a family integrated church sermon, it also asks what costume your family has put on Jesus, and where you have kept Him: in the Sunday closet, on the wall, or on the throne. The world still dresses Jesus the way it wants Him: a good teacher, a Sunday suit, a name you call when the doctor's report is bad. Pastor Fortunato shows from Mark that none of it changes who He is. These same clothes healed the woman in Mark 5 and shone on the mount in Mark 9, and He went out to be crucified in them, as Himself. Walking through Mark 15, Mark 14, Mark 5, Mark 9, Mark 3, Isaiah 63, Revelation 19, and Hebrews 13, this sermon explains: - Why the soldiers mocked Jesus, and why Mark calls it worship (Mark 15:16-20) - Why "good teacher" is another costume people put on Christ (Mark 14:61-62) - Why His own clothes were put back on Him before He was led out to crucify Him - Why His hands were bound, and what those same hands had done - How the soldiers gambled for His coat and still missed the man (Mark 15:24) - Why no one spoke for Jesus on the road, and what Peter's denial says about us - The trade at the cross: the righteousness of Christ for our filthy rags (2 Corinthians 5:21) - Why His own brothers, who called Him "beside himself," came to believe (Mark 3)

Genesis 37 — Family secrets, favoritism, and bitterness tear families apart. Joseph's story shows how God can heal a broken family. This family integrated church sermon from Genesis 37 asks how a family ends up lying to its own father over a blood-soaked coat. Nobody wakes up and decides to sell a brother. It starts small, and it starts at home. If you are living with a broken family, a hidden hurt, or a brother or sister you cannot speak peaceably to, this verse-by-verse message on Joseph and his brothers is for you. Pastor Fortunato traces the road to the pit: a father's favoritism, a son's poor timing, brothers consumed by envy, and a secret kept for twenty years. He also shows where the story leads, to Joseph forgiving the brothers who sold him. If you have been hurt by your own family, or you are the one who needs to bring something into the light, this message on forgiving family and healing a broken home will meet you where you are. Walking through Genesis 37, 27, 28, 42, 45, and 50, with Acts 7 and James 3, this sermon explains: - How favoritism in a home sets the stage for hatred between brothers - How a family pattern is inherited from one generation to the next (Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob, Joseph) - What envy does when it moves from the heart to the hands (Acts 7:9; James 3:16) - Why being right does not make you wise - Why every family secret is a fig leaf that never holds - How the goat that deceived Isaac comes home to deceive Jacob - Why Joseph weeps aloud, and why a man who never cries should be concerned - Why forgiveness and trust are two different things - Why you do not have to sit in God's place to settle the score (Genesis 50:19-20)

Proverbs 5:15-21 — Why do marriages drift apart after the kids leave? A biblical marriage message on keeping the wife of your youth. ⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church's 3rd Annual Family Camp • Cookeville, TN • October 6, 2026. This family integrated church sermon from Proverbs 5:15-21, featuring guest preacher Mike Loftin, takes on a question most couples avoid: why do people stay married for thirty years, watch the children leave home, and then end up divorced, or in the same house and miserable? If you want to keep your marriage strong, this biblical marriage message says it comes down to one thing, spending time, and it shows what happens when you do not. Pastor Loftin preaches as a man who has been married for thirty years to his high school sweetheart. He explains why a deeper love grows over time, why hard times draw a couple closer, and why a marriage built only on the physical will not hold. He also tells how he answered a woman who tried to flatter him, and why every husband and wife should be ready with an answer when temptation comes. Walking through Proverbs 5, Malachi 2, Genesis 2, Ecclesiastes 9, and 1 Peter 3, this sermon explains: - Why you must make time for your spouse or you will drift apart - What it means to drink waters out of your own cistern (Proverbs 5:15) - Why the wife of thy youth is your companion and the wife of thy covenant (Malachi 2:14) - What the Bible says about putting away a spouse (Malachi 2:16) - Why you cannot grow closer to the Savior and farther from your spouse - Why the standard is "How does God treat me?" for wife, husband, and children - How to keep your marriage joyful through communication and being easily entreated

Ephesians 5:15-16 — Balancing work, church, and family is hard. Pastor Mike Loftin shows why your job is your living, not your life. This family integrated church sermon from Ephesians 5:15-16, featuring Pastor Mike Loftin, takes on a question every Christian father and mother wrestles with: how do you balance work, church, and family when the days are evil and the time is short? If you've been giving your best hours to a job, a ministry, or a schedule that leaves nothing for your children, this message on balancing work, church, and family will help you redeem the time God has given you. Pastor Loftin preaches as a father who has been where you are. He worked three jobs to pay the bills, stayed busy in a church that never slowed down, and later had to go back and apologize to his children. He is not telling you to quit working or to skip church. He is showing you from Scripture how to put each in its place, and why Christian parenting takes time you cannot get back. Walking through Ephesians 5, 1 Timothy 5, 2 Thessalonians 3, Genesis 2, Romans 1, and Luke 14, this sermon explains: - Why your job is your living, not your life - What the Bible says about providing for your home (1 Timothy 5:8) - Why Paul worked with his own hands, and why you should teach your kids to work (2 Thessalonians 3) - Why the world you're laboring for is passing away - What "forbearance" means, and why letting the Holy Spirit work beats playing the Holy Spirit with your children - What image of God your children are seeing in the way you treat them - Why God ordained both the home and the church, and why they work together - Why meeting a real need at home can be ministry

Ephesians 3:12-21 — You belong to the family of God, and hidden sin never stays hidden. Thomas Irvin on family and fatherhood. This family integrated church sermon from Ephesians 3:12-21, featuring guest preacher Pastor Thomas Irvin, asks a question most of us avoid: who is your family? Pastor Irvin walks through what it means to belong to the family of God in heaven and earth, and why every believer, and especially every father, answers to that family in everything he does, even when he thinks nobody sees. Pastor Irvin never knew his earthly father. He preaches from experience on what it means to have a Father in heaven, and from Scripture on how God reckons a household by its head. Whether you grew up without a father, are leading a home now, or are hiding something you think no one knows about, this message on the family of God is for you. Using Ephesians 3, Ephesians 2, Numbers 26, Judges 6, John 1, and John 3, this sermon explains: - How a person becomes part of the family of God (John 1:12; John 3:18) - Why Christians are told to love one another again and again - Why believers are not "free from righteousness" the way the lost are - Why God sees your family as represented by its head (Numbers 26) - Why your private choices are never really private - How a hidden relationship and secret messages brought one man's life down - How God used Gideon, the least in his father's house - Why you cannot be saved by standards, and why standards still matter after you are saved

Proverbs 8:32-36 — Sunday-only Christianity, drifting from God, and refusing wisdom. The verdict you bring on wisdom is a verdict on yourself. This expository preaching message through Proverbs 8:32-36 closes the chapter where Wisdom has been crying at the gate. Her last words begin with "Now therefore," like a lawyer walking to the jury box to ask for a verdict. If you've heard the sermons your whole life and still feel like you're drifting, this verse-by-verse teaching is for you. Most refusing of wisdom doesn't look like rebellion. It looks like drifting: you quit midweek service, then your morning Bible reading, then prayer at the table. Nobody slammed anything. This KJV sermon shows how a man can know every word of the Bible, sit in the pew with his tie on, and still be dead, and what it means to wait daily at wisdom's gate. The message also contrasts the young man in Proverbs 7, who waited at the wrong door, with the blessed man in Proverbs 8, who waits at wisdom's door. It ends at the cross, where the door was nailed open. This sermon walks through Proverbs 8:32-36, Proverbs 12:15, Titus 2:11-12, and Ephesians 2, explaining: - What "Now therefore" means, and why wisdom asks for a verdict today - Why wisdom calls us "children" in a mother's voice, calling us in before dark - Why grace that saves also teaches us to deny ungodliness (Titus 2) - What it means to hear instruction, and why refusing wisdom looks like drifting - Why the fool is not short on facts but long on pride (Proverbs 12:15) - What "watching daily at my gates" means, and why a man always finds time for the door he loves - How the man who refuses wisdom "wrongeth his own soul"

Psalm 24:1 — What does the Bible say about money? It all belongs to God, and you are his steward. Lesson 1 of our money series. This lesson on what the Bible says about money starts where Scripture starts: God owns it all. Your house, your truck, your paycheck, and the dollar in your pocket are not yours, and biblical stewardship begins when you believe that. From Psalm 24:1, this message shows why you are a manager of what God has put in your hands, not an owner. If you've ever thought "I earned this," or felt the pull to want more, this lesson is for you. Moses warned Israel that the real danger isn't being poor. It's being full and forgetting the God who filled you. We walk through five passages that answer a simple question: if everything belongs to God, how does that change how you spend, save, and give? This family integrated church Sunday school lesson was taught with children and parents together. Kids read the Scriptures aloud, and an object lesson shows that God's claim is on everything we own. Families can use the discussion questions at the end to continue the conversation at home. This lesson walks through Psalm 24, 1 Chronicles 29, Deut 8, 1 Cor 4, and Luke 16, explaining: - God owns it all: the earth and the fulness thereof, and the people who live in it - Why everything we have came from his hand - Why giving to God is only handing back what was already his - The danger of the "self-made man" in Deut 8:17-18 - Who gave you the power to get wealth - What a steward is, and why God requires faithfulness, not riches - Why how you handle a little determines how you handle a lot - Why a widow with little and a businessman with much answer the same question